4 Effective Exercises To Work Out Your Biceps

How To Work Out Your Biceps

If you’re a woman, you’re most likely going to want to work out your biceps to give your arms tone and definition.

The benefits of toning your arms are many.  For women, it means that you can wave your arm without worrying about the bingo flap. You know, that section of your upper arm that hangs down when you raise it.

In the summer you can rock a tank top, a sun dress, or a short-sleeved shirt with confidence and pride.

While there are dozens of exercises that work out your biceps, the 4 exercises below make the biggest difference in the shortest amount of time.

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4 Exercises To Work Out Your Biceps

1. Barbell Curl

Curls using barbells instead of dumbbells allow you to use heavier weights which are needed to build muscle. The key to this exercise is to do it in a slow and controlled manner so that you are not overcome by momentum.

Start from a standing position holding a barbell in your hands with your palms facing away from you. Bend at the elbows bringing up the weight until your forearms are vertical. Pause at the top and then slowly start to lower the weight until your arms are fully extended as they were in the starting position. Controlling the movement, especially downward, creates a higher intensity deep within the muscle fibers.

Click here to watch a video of the barbell curl

2. Incline Dumbbell Curl

With the barbell curl, it’s possible to get some back movement when you work out your biceps if you’re not careful with your form. But when laying on an incline bench, the movement of the back is nullified.

Start by laying on an incline bench holding a dumbbell in each hand, arms fully extended downward. Now contract your biceps thus moving the weight up until your forearms are vertical. Pause and slowly control the movement of the weight back down to the starting position.

Click here to watch a video of the incline dumbbell curl

3. Concentration Curl

Of all the curl exercises that work out your biceps, this one isolates them the most. This one differs from the rest as it is done from a sitting position.

Start by sitting on a bench, legs apart and holding a dumbbell in one hand. The arm holding the dumbbell should be hanging straight down and resting against the inner part of your thigh, palm facing your other leg. To execute the move simply bend at the elbow raising the weight up until it touches your chest. Pause and control the movement slowly back down to the starting position. Because your upper arm rests against your upper thigh, momentum is dampened so all effort goes into the raising and lowering of the weight.

Click here to watch a video of the concentration curl

4. Reverse Grip Bent-Over Row

The standard row exercise helps work out your biceps, but when its done with a reverse grip, more stress is placed on the biceps thus developing them further.

Start bent over holding a weighted barbell with arms fully extended and palms facing out. Now bend at the elbows thus bringing up the weight until the biceps are parallel with the floor. Pause and then in a controlled manner slowly lower the weight back down to the starting position.

Click here to watch a video of the bent-over row.

Toning Your Arms

As far as the amount of weight, repetitions and sets with each of the exercises, use enough weight so you can do 2 to 3 sets with 8 to 10 repetitions per set. Once you reach the max on sets and reps, increase the weight and drop back on the number of reps and sets and start over again.

Don’t forget that just about any arm toning exercise you perform will strengthen your back, shoulder and core muscles as well. You’ll have better posture, your clothing will be more flattering on you and you’ll feel more confident.

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Building up muscle isn’t easy.  If you’re not doing it right you can hurt yourself. You can also end up doing all the workouts while not actually building up any muscle. When women try to build muscle they often end up making a variety of mistakes that make the job of building muscle much harder than it needs to be.  To learn more, download my free report, 10 Muscle Toning Mistakes Women Make to ensure you get the best results when you work out your biceps.